Here's Why Deathstroke Was Chosen as the Villain for the New Batman Movie

So today we learned that the new Ben Affleck Batman movie is (unsurprisingly) titled The Batman. Good move, Ben Affleck. We also learned why Deathstroke, the merc with no mouth, is going to be the main villain of the new movie—and it has to do with his portrayal in The New 52.

"He's a great villain because-I just had an instinctive feeling that he would match up with him well. You know, I'm a big admirer of that character as well, especially in the New 52 the way that they did Deathstroke, and I thought that it could work."

It seems that the New 52 version of Slade Wilson won Affleck over, which is interesting considering that Deathstroke has two brutal storylines attached to him: the team-up with and destruction of the Alpha Dogs, and his confrontation with his still-living son, Grant. Each iteration of Deathstroke has been violent and merciless, but the New 52 version murdered his teammates, the Alpha Dogs, in cold blood on principle: he wanted to prove that he didn't need comrades to complete his contracts.

In a lot of ways, Deathstroke is like a villainous version of Batman: he's an extremely skilled martial artist with no superpowers (beyond some enhanced reflexes and physical prowess) and a penchant for working in the shadows. This will be the first standalone film in Affleck's new Batman franchise, so Deathstroke is probably going to set the tone for the kind of villain we should expect from the new series, too. Christopher Nolan's films were based around extremely complicated, multi-level plans that threatened all of Gotham, perpetrated by a mastermind who wasn't too physically threatening (until we got to Bane). Like Bane, Deathstroke promises to be a physical match for Batman as well as an intellectual one, but considering his character, Deathstroke seems to be less of a mastermind and more of an assassin. This may mean that Deathstroke's plans may be less focused on destroying Gotham and more on taking down The Bat.

Batman vs. Superman didn't do so well with its super grim, serious tone. Justice League seems to have a better balance of fun and drama, with a couple deadpan jokes and witty exchanges in the trailer. It'll be interesting where Affleck goes with TheBatman's tone, especially since Deathstroke isn't one for jokes or witty dialogue.